Officer In Philando Castile Shooting Identified

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety – Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has released the names of the officers involved in the shooting death of Philando Castile.

Jeronimo Yanez and Joseph Kauser have been placed on administrative leave following the incident. Yanez, who has been on the force for four years, was identified as the officer who opened fire on Castile.

This is a developing story.

JUST IN: Authorities have identified the police officer that shot and killed #PhilandoCastile as Jeronimo Yanez pic.twitter.com/0dD477itMK

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) July 8, 2016

Governor Mark Dayton (D-Minnesota), held a press conference on Thursday (July 7), announcing he was appalled over the police shooting death of 32-year-old Philando Castile, and calling for swift justice, NBC News reports.

“Would this have happened if the driver and the passengers had been White? I don’t think so,” he said.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton: "We are going to purse this matter all the way to conclusion." https://t.co/S6zWfUyj2B https://t.co/4loPRmr9ex

— CNN (@CNN) July 7, 2016

Dayton continued, “I can’t say how shocked I am and deeply, deeply offended that this would happen to somebody in Minnesota. No one should be shot in Minnesota for a tail light being out of function, No one should be killed in Minnesota while seated in their car.”

NBC writes:

The St. Anthony Police Department, which covers Falcon Heights, a community of 5,300 people, hasn’t detailed what led up to the shooting or said how many times Castile was shot. The officer hasn’t been identified, but police described him as a five-year veteran and said he has been placed on paid administrative leave, as is standard in shooting investigations.